Winners & Losers in 2020

Some businesses thrived, many lagged during pandemic in 2020

By March 23, Apple had lost $435 billion in market value in about five weeks and many of its retail outlets were shut as the virus pandemic walloped the global economy and stock markets. Meanwhile, a report issued by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that 2% of small businesses surveyed had shut down permanently in March.

On Dec. 30, Apple’s stock market value totaled $2.29 trillion, up 133% since March 23. Meanwhile, Congress has approved nearly $300 billion in additional relief for small businesses, money that many hard-hit owners only hope can help them survive until the pandemic finally eases

The success of Apple and other big technology companies and the struggles of the smallest of businesses is just one example of how the pandemic created winners and losers in the business world in 2020. Wall Street recovered after March;

Main Street is still struggling.

In 2020, it hasn’t been uncommon to work remotely in sweatpants – while meeting on video conferencing platforms like Zoom – hop onto an expensive high-tech exercise bike afterward and have your

favorite restaurant dish delivered to your home (by a driver trying to earn an extra buck and hoping not to catch the coronavirus).

Of course, the flip side of that scenario has been deserted office buildings, empty

restaurants and sparsely-populated gyms. And as few people traveled, the airline industry needed billions of dollars in aid from the government and is still threatening to lay off workers.

What follows is a look at

those businesses that benefitted from the pandemic and those that faltered.

First, the winners:

ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTOS IN THIS SEPT. 2, 2020, PHOTO, PASSERS-BY WALK PAST A BUSINESS STOREFRONT with store closing and sale signs in Dedham, Mass. The coronavirus and the drastic measures put in place by government officials to try to control its spread had a severe toll on many small businesses in the U.S.

THE DOORDASH APP IS SHOWN ON A SMARTPHONE on Feb. 27, 2020, in New York. In 2020, many people took to working remotely in sweatpants, hopped onto an expensive high-tech exercise bike and had their favorite restaurant dish delivered, perhaps by a driver trying to earn an extra buck and hoping not to catch the coronavirus.

IN THIS AUG. 13, 2020 FILE PHOTO, the logos for Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus and Sling TV are pictured on a remote control in Portland, Ore. As movie theaters closed and lockdowns descended across the country, people turned to the ever-growing number of video streaming services for entertainment.